Mission Critical Communications

In the case of an emergency, quick response of a well-trained and experienced first responder is important, but equally as important is that those first responders have real-time access to the critical information they need. Interruptions in communication between first responders can create life or death situations, result in property damage or cause injuries. This is where Mission Critical communications, or MCX, comes in.

In the world of MCX, Mission Critical Push to Anything (MCPTX) technologies play a key role in emergency communications. MCPTX is the upgrade to Mission Critical Push to Talk (MCPTT), which is the legacy walkie-talkie network that enables voice communication. Push to Anything expands on MCPTT, enabling the sharing of text, images, location mapping and video and all in real-time for a more wholistic, advanced critical communications system.

With its updates, MCPTX can enable dispatchers and first responders, for example, to push video that holds important information to inform the team before heading into an emergency. The value of something like showing the blueprints of a burning building to a firefighter before they enter could be life-changing in a critical situation. MCPTX also supports interoperability with existing systems, so if an organization is working with legacy technology, MCPTX will connect seamlessly.
Outside of public safety organizations like police, firefighters, emergency medical services and the military; MCX also interconnects and supports existing maritime, aviation, and railway networks and there is significant interest in deploying MCX-based services for other vertical industries that require critical communications.

Though some industries are just now looking at beginning to deploy these services, companies like Samsung have been supporting these commercial rollouts for years. For example, last year, Samsung helped install a nationwide public safety network in South Korea and in the US, Samsung has partnered with AT&T to develop the FirstNet, a dedicated and highly secure non-public platform for public safety operating in the 700 MHz band.

While a lot of work has already been done, MCPTX services are based on 4G and as we continue to see the advanced capabilities 5G can bring, Samsung and the standards bodies are working to support 5G commercial use in MCX over the next few years. 5G can bring crucial benefits for mission critical services such as enhanced mobile broadband and ultra-low latency to MCX solutions.

While many advancements have already been made and deployed, the future of mission critical technologies is bright. Listen now to learn more about the power of end-to-end public safety solutions and the positive change coming to emergency communications that will keep our communities safer and more connected.

Kali Pickens – Host, Director, Marketing, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics America
Alex Chin – Staff Engineer, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics America